


ipso facto.

by nochanchu



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Angst, Drama, F/M, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-10
Updated: 2018-12-06
Packaged: 2019-09-13 04:29:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16885632
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nochanchu/pseuds/nochanchu
Summary: Park Chanyeol has always made poor decisions, always, maybe—just this once—he has it right this time.





	ipso facto.

> **def.** _latin_ by that very fact or act.

 

“This isn’t real,” he says, unconvinced, “it can’t be.”

“It is, if you want it to be,” she replies, taking a step forward. Chanyeol’s scared of what will happen when she touches him, even just a caress could set him off and throw everything he’s been rehearsing out the window. 

He swallows hard, “But—“ 

“But?”

“—Can’t it be?”

For months, the ache and thrill and the tug and pull have haunted him, plagued him with the taste of something more. For him, there was nothing else in this world that he wanted more than her. Confessing had been a far-distant dream he could only conceive when his psyche was feeling generous, but right here, right now, something was coming into fruition. Somehow he was doing this; he just hoped this would end well.

“Do you want it to be?” she asks, watching him—correction:  _ analyzing _ him, as she always does. She was always doing that, whether he elicited a positive reaction or a negative one. She claimed it helped her understand him, but it also made him understand her. 

“Yeah,” he nods, sounding the most honest that he has in months, “I really, really do.”

She continues toward him, never ceasing their eye contact, as if this was completely commonplace for the two of them. Most games of cat-and-mouse were the very epitome of this relationship, the very thought always drew him to a point of madness when she allotted him some kind of intimacy, but this was different. New, even for her and her unpredictable ways. 

“D-do you accept that? Can you?” he asks, wondering if that will halt her. 

It doesn’t. 

She continues until their chests touch and her hand is on his cheek. It makes him gulp, but what hits hardest is the idea of being toyed with after baring his soul to her. He wants to pull away, but he can’t seem to when her gaze is right there and unmoved as well. 

He wants so badly for her to respond, to just say something, whether it breaks his heart or sets it ablaze. He seeks the truth even in the face of rejection, because this matters. This matters so fucking much he’s certain that he has never felt like this since the first time he ever told somebody he loved them romantically. And, sure, he loves her. It’s a no brainer that he loves her. But this isn’t a certain instance; he doesn’t know what she’ll say. She’s the most closed book he has met thus far, and yet he feels close to her; he feels like he knows her, even when she claims no one does. He thinks that even if he doesn’t know everything now, he can still learn along the way, and even then, he’ll love her. 

“I… ca—“


End file.
